Rammellzee, the pioneering hip-hop artist and Wild Style (1983) star, has passed away. Hip-hop legend Fab Five Freddy announced it on Twitter. Rammellzee played himself in the cult classic Wild Style, as one half of the performance group Rammellzee and Shock Dell at the ampitheater. Rammellzee's ten-minute-plus 1983 record "Beat Bop" is a hip-hop classic for more than just classic beats. The cover art for the record was created by legendary artist Jean-Michel Basquiat. Rammellzee also starred as himself in New York Beat Movie (1981), which examines a day in the life of Basquiat. Rammellzee was at the forefront of the emergence of hip-hop music, grafitti, new wave and a hip-hop aesthetic in painting. RIP to a true innovator.
SOURCE: http://gawker.com/5576407/rammellzee-hip-hop-pioneer